The departure of defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez to the University of Washington was a big blow to the Montana State defensive line during the offseason. If the Bobcats are to make a jump this season, it’ll be important for fellow tackle Paul Brott and the entire MSU defensive front to elevate their performance.
Brott was a big part of MSU’s interior defensive line rotation in 2023 and is expected to have an enhanced role as a starter in 2024. He’s joined there by veteran senior Blake Schmidt, Washington State transfer Alex Eckert, upstart junior Zack Black and a pair of upstart freshmen in Hunter Sharbono and Talon Marsh. Add in ends Brody Grebe, Kenneth Eiden IV and Zac Crews and the Bobcat defensive lines is expected to be one of the top defensive lines in the nation.
“We got a great group of guys here and we’re ready for the challenge,” Brott said. “We hold each other accountable. We know each other’s jobs and want to make each other better. We don’t have any weaknesses; we just what we know. Know your job, do your job is our slogan, so we that’s just what we do.”
The Bobcat’ defense started out hot last season, leading the Big Sky Conference in nearly every important defensive statistic monitored by the league. During that stretch, MSU held the mighty South Dakota State offense scoreless in the first half and had allowed just 13 points to the Jackrabbits for the first 58:30 of the game before falling 20-16.
The Bobcats began faltering after the midway point of the season and it not only was reflected in the BSC stats, but also the scoreboard as MSU lost three of its last five games, allowing 37 points to Montana and 35 in overtime to North Dakota State in a pair of season-ending losses. MSU had only allowed 30 points once all season before those two losses and that was on a touchdown with just 1:17 to play against Sacramento State.
As many teams do, MSU had a penchant for allowing scores after building insurmountable leads. However, the Bobcats did the same thing three times in close games over the course of the season and it turned into a lower than expected playoff seed and an early exit from the FCS tournament.
The Bobcats gave up the go-ahead score to SDSU with 1:30 to go, then to Idaho with 2:47 to play and finally to NDSU with 2:33 remaining. Each time MSU either drove the field and appeared to score the game-winner or have a chance to tie the game only to be turned away by a missed call, missed field goal attempt and narrowly stepping out of bounds.
Had the defense been able to hold up in those games, there’s no telling where MSU’s playoff campaign goes from there.
To get past those teams, Brott pointed out some things he needs to improve on.
“My pass rush and then my flexibility,” he said. “Being able to put myself in position to make better plays. My pass rush has always not been the best, so I’m just trying to help the team by being able to penetrate through the middle.”
Brott, who was a first team AA all-state player for Billings West, also says he tries to emulate his sidekick, Blake Schmidt, at defensive tackle. Brott has steadily risen up the depth chart and played a decent amount while rotating in to spell Schmidt and Valdez last fall.
“That’s a guy I try to be like,” Brott said, referring to the hard-nosed Schmidt. “He helped me to get where I’m at today. He’s so strong and he’ll hit someone, and they’ll just stop. He’s like an anchor. Watching him and (offensive tackle) Marcus (Wehr) go at it (at practice) is fun to see.”
Despite missing three games, Brott was the third leading tackler among tackles, just three behind Schmidt. He matched Schmidt in tackles for loss (4) and sacks (2).
MSU has had a slight shakeup on in the defensive coaching staff as well with Bobby Daly taking over the defensive coordinator duties and Shaun Howe becoming a co-coordinator alongside him. With that Brott sees some changes in style despite the base 4-2-5 formation remaining.
“We get more calls that help the D-line out,” Brott said of Howe’s coaching style. “He has the mentality of finish everything. He wants you to go as hard as you can 24-7. He wants us to be the best that we can both as people and as players and that’s what I like the most about him being my coach.”
Brott followed his brothers Mitch and Wilson to MSU. Mitch was an All-America offensive tackle in 2019 and ended his career with more than 50 career starts, a program record. Wilson Brott, a high school quarterback played tight end and then offensive tackle during four years.
Along with being an all-state player who led West to the Class AA state title game as a senior in high school, Paul had four solo tackles and was named the East defensive MVP in the 74th Montana East-West Shrine Game after his senior season.
The Bobcats will be in Albuquerque this Saturday to face the University of New Mexico for the season opener for both schools. Game time is slated for 2:00.
